Joseph Paolucci-Hitchcock

Joseph “Joey” Paolucci-Hitchcock was born on April 29, 1998, in Bucharest, Romania. At 11 months old, Joey was adopted, with his identical twin brother Harrison “Harry” Paolucci-Hitchcock, by their new parents Joseph Paolucci and Thomas Hitchcock.

The twins were lovingly brought home to the family’s home in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, where they attended both private and public schools. The twins spent weekends and holidays at the family’s country home on Madron Lake in Buchanan, MI, until age 15 when they permanently moved to Buchanan, graduating from Buchanan High School. Joey and his brother loved growing up on Madron Lake - swimming, boating, fishing, mountain biking, tobogganing, and exploring the forest and orchard with many friends and family year-round. From their Chicago home, the twins enjoyed together exploring City neighborhoods and many City parks and Lake Michigan beaches, learning to ride the El trains, exploring art and science museums, eating at many ethnic restaurants, indulging their shared deep interests in history, especially World War II and European history, and enthusiastically learning about and collecting time pieces. Joey, like Harry, passionately wrote and performed rap music, as a talented hobbyist. Joey was devoted to weightlifting and took much pride in the results. Joey loved art and drawing, showing talent at a young age.

Joey was preceded in death by his loving grandparents Gwenna and Donald Hitchcock, whose folksy wisdom helped center Joey in his own life. Joey was also preceded in death by his beloved Nonno, Giuseppe (“Joe”) Paolucci, whose endless stories about his youth in 1930’s-40’s Italy encouraged Joey’s life-long passion for history, including collecting WWII artifacts.

Joey loved children and was a doting father figure to the children who came into his life with the women he loved. At the time of his passing, Joey was very eager to settle down and start his own family. After helping his family develop and open Sweet Shop Cafe Italiano in Buchanan, MI, which his parents intended for the twins to operate as their own, Joey, while still helping out at the restaurant as needed, devoted himself to becoming a stone mason, very much enjoying the camaraderie of his crew and the beneficial effects the hard and precise work had on his mind and body.

Joey, who passed away suddenly in a car accident, is survived by his twin brother and best friend Harry, his parents Joseph Paolucci and Thomas Hitchcock, his Nonna Anna Paolucci who was born and raised in Italy and was 98 at the time of Joey’s death, his uncle and aunt Rudy and Judy Paolucci, his cousins Elizabeth, Matthew and Sarah Paolucci, his uncles Michael and James Hitchcock, his cousin Flynn Hitchcock, his many friends and his close canine companion Duke.

A memorial Mass will be held for Joey at 11:00 AM on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 2003 Hassert Blvd, Naperville, Illinois 60564, with a reception to immediately follow at his aunt and uncle’s nearby home

To send flowers for Joey’s memorial Mass and reception, please contact Phillips Flowers in Naperville at (630) 357-5235 for delivery to the Church that Saturday morning before 11:00 AM.